The All Blacks Sevens have been decimated by injuries in the first two rounds and stand seventh on the table.

Sir Gordon Tietjen's men will defend their Wellington title with a mixture of players that include a number of XVs stars, such as Sonny Bill Williams and Ardie Savea, hoping to crack the squad for the Rio Olympics.

Tietjens has made it plainly clear that this year's focus is solely on the Rio Olympic Games and giving his side the best chance of winning gold.

However winning in Wellington is next on the priority list and he's excited about the raw but talent-laden squad he has to work with.

While they've been making enormous strides and their potential is there for all to see, some of the Super Rugby stars are struggling to reach the levels of fitness and game sevens understanding required to play international sevens.